Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-10-14
..Mv ncndant. ] cried. Ht-it was

MY pendant. cried. lit was
real them"
"Yes ma am had TO demonstrate
then with Mr.. Raynrr for his rashncS>
in giving il you; but nothing ever went
wrong with him daring as he is-till
You came across his path. ma am.
have nothing 20 keep me here now,
ma am; so | shall be off tonight; and.
if you care to hear how get on. You
will be able To do SO by applying to my
late master, Mr.. Carruthers.
He led me courtcous'y to the door.
bowed me out. and shut himself in
again. while went. trembling and be-
wildered, toward Mrs. Rayncr's room
| knocked at the door. At first there
was no answer | called her by name.
and begged her to let me in. AT last |
heard her voice close to the other side
of the door.
What do you want Miss Christic?'
May | come in, Mrs. Rayner? l
have something to tell you.
Il can't let you in. Can you speak
through the door,"
mo. no; must see you. l have
something very important to say about
Mr.. Rayner." whispered into the key
hole
"Is he hcrc?" she faltered.
mo; he has gone to America /
whispered.
She gave long. shuddering sigh.
and then said:-
81 will let you in"
She turned the key slowly, while l
trembled with Impotence outside the
door.
When l found myself inside the room
which had been 4 mystery to me for SO
long, nothing struck me at first but i
sense of cold and darkness. There was
only one window. which was barred on
the inside: the fog still hung about the
stead of begging as You did to remain
hore2n
because" she whispered, her nerv-
Gus agitation coming back again, II
knew that while l remained down here
they would not kill me outright; they
could not let me lie down here and in
troduce doctors and strangers to eX-
anime into the cause of my death into
this room. l knew that change of
room was my death-warrant; and so it
would have been, but for the accident
which happened to Sarah on the very
night when. but for you, should have
been sleeping upstairs ready to her
hand"
staggered back, suddenly remcm-
bering the message Mr.. Rayner had in
his letter told me to give to Sarah. 1t
was this: Tell Sarah not to forget
the work she has to do in my absence"
And l remembered also the grim way
in which she had received it. Could he
have meant that?
Mrs. Rayner continued:
"He hates violence; all was to have
been over by his return. and he free to
marry YOU"
''But he couldn't Twas engaged to
Laurence, Mrs. Rayner."
She gave little bitter smile.
"And do you think that, with Laur-
ence away and MIR. Rayncr here. you
could have withstood him? In spite of
his soft manners, he has will that
acts like spell. tell you," said she,
twisting my fingers ncrvously, Though
you say he is in America. and Laurence
Reade says l shall never be in his
power again, his influence is strong
upon me even now. There is no peace,
no freedom for me rs long rs he lives"
''Mrs. Rayncr," said ]. suddenly.
''may | ask you if what Mr. Rayner
told me when first came is true-that
you were rich and he poor. and that he
lived on your money!"
mo, it is not true. had a little
money when he first married me,
which he ran through ut once"
'And is it true you once wrote
books, and had little boy whose
death made a great change in you?"
said l. slowly, watching her face.
mo; Inever had any child but Mona
and Haidee."
Then what did he"
what did he tell you so forf He
delights in making up fantastic tales of
that sort, and often in making me bear
witness to the truth of his inventions;
it is part of his wild humor. When he
went away to carry out a robbery. he
would let me know what he was going
to do-just to torture me-"
The dead calmness with which she
told me all this was maddening to me.
"Why did you bear itP Why didn't
you rebel. or run away, while he was
engaged in robbery, and tell q police
manp"
IF Sarah had killed me, and you
had married Mr.. Rsyner." she an
swered. slowly. staring straight at me.
'you would have understood why"
And the power this man exercised
over every one who came much in his
way became in o moment clear to me,
when saw by what different means
gNltle Wne ana the mend Sarah, and on
the other gained q strong influence
over such different women as Mrs.
Reade and myself But the revelation
was more than ! could bear. I said,
family:
MAY 60 to my room, Mrs. Rayner?
IL am not WE'LL"
And she herself led me very slowly
for was indeed weak and ill, half with
the pain of my arm and half with
misery and disgust-up to my bed in
the turret-roOm.
Before the end OF the day Mrs
Saunders disappeared. taking with her
Mrs. Rayner's watch and also the
cooks which had been left in tho
rooms Of the owners. Mrs. Rayner
now returned to the spare room, which
was healthier than the dungeon she
had occupied 50 long. There really
was nothing to keep her at the Alders.
but she refused to be removed until l
was able also to go, an event l had de-
layed by rashly leaving my room three
times since had been told TO keep nv
bed.
Next day, which was Saturday,
Laurence wrote to say that he had HIM
self searched the store-room and MI.
Rayner's study, but had found no
trace of Gordon beyond a pair Of hand
cuffs placed neatly in the middle of the
store-room on the top of a pyramid of
biscuit-tins and pickle jars, with sheet
of paper saying that the late wearer
begged TO return them with thanks to
the police. who might perhaps succeed
in making them stay longer on the
wrists of simpler rogue than their
obedient servant, +. Gordon.
Meanwhile the fog still hung about
the place, and Nap. the retriever.
howled every night. When Monday
came, /, anxious to be declared con-
valpScant az com DC pocc;b1a and ~ la